jimmyram

Rams: Injury ends McCollum's season


Rams center Andy McCollum is escorted off hte field by team trainers after being injured in second quarter action.


Throughout his previous 12 NFL seasons, Rams center Andy McCollum always has gotten up. Through 181 regular-season and postseason contests, he always has been able to walk away from the pile without serious injury.

Not this time. Not this season. Call it the unlucky 13th.

"My luck ran out, I guess," McCollum said Monday.

McCollum suffered torn ligaments in his left knee midway through the second quarter of Sunday's season opener against Denver. It's a season-ending injury that will require surgery.


"It's a complete tear of both the ACL and the MCL," McCollum said. "They said they want to wait a few weeks (before surgery). They want the swelling to do down, and the MCL kind of scars up and heals itself. They need to go in and fix the other one."

Sunday's game marked the 97th consecutive regular-season start for McCollum with the Rams, dating back to the beginning of the 2000 campaign. All have been at center, except for the 2003 season, when he played left guard all year, and one start at right guard in 2000.

"That's a tough offensive line position to lose," coach Scott Linehan said. "You don't want to lose anyone, but you lose your center who's been snapping to your quarterback for quite a few years -- let alone all offseason -- and you worry about some things like quarterback exchange."

Recent Rams history provides a telling example that Linehan's concern is well-founded. McCollum's one start at right guard in 2000 came after several injuries forced some line shuffling. That 2000 contest against Kansas City is the game in which Kurt Warner suffered his initial finger injury on an errant snap by replacement center Steve Everitt.

Warner missed the next five games; otherwise that ultra-potent 2000 offense might have broken every record in the book. As it was, the 2000 Rams scored 540 points, the third-highest total in NFL history, and broke 43 NFL or team records.

Now, quarterback Marc Bulger must get used to taking snaps from a new center, probably Larry Turner, who finished up against Denver after McCollum went down.

"I think Larry did a very good job," Linehan said. "He came in, gave up one sack. I think he just didn't set properly. ... Other than that, I think he did a very good job, and he did better as the game went on."

The Rams are looking at alternatives at center, too, even if only to back up Turner. In house, starting left guard Richie Incognito and backup guard-tackle Adam Goldberg have some experience at center. Guard-tackle Blaine Saipaia, who was released 10 days ago when the Rams traded for Goldberg, is another possibility. Saipaia also has some experience at center, although it's not anything close to his natural position.

Linehan said Monday that he would prefer to bring in someone who's more of a "full-time" center. That could be Wade Smith, who was released Monday by Miami.

Linehan was the Dolphins' offensive coordinator last season. Smith came into the NFL as a tackle in 2003. He started 16 games at left tackle as a rookie and started two more there in 2004. He was switched to center entering the 2005 season but suffered a season-ending forearm injury in training camp.

McCollum suffered his injury Sunday on a 23-yard pass from Bulger to Torry Holt midway through the second quarter. A Denver defender fell into McCollum's leg, forcing the knee in.

"It wasn't dirty or anything," McCollum said. "He was falling down, and my leg happened to be there. ... I knew it was something, because (the knee) popped. I felt it pop in there."

But when McCollum got up, he said the knee didn't feel too bad. He briefly lobbied to go back into the game but was overruled by team physician Matt Matava. Once the severity of the injury became apparent, frustration and anger kicked in for McCollum.

"I've never had anything that forced me to come out of a game," McCollum said. "So I don't really know how to handle it."

Neither does his wife, Christy.

"She had a bad weekend," McCollum said. "With this, and we had to get rid of one of our dogs. So there's a lot of crying at my house."

For him? Or the dog?

"More for the dog, believe me," he said.

Despite this setback, McCollum plans on returning for his 14th NFL season in 2007. During his rehab, he plans to live up to his billing as one of the "Donut Bros." -- a nickname he shares with teammate Adam Timmerman.

"I can probably eat more donuts now," McCollum said. "I heard they're very therapeutic for the cartilage and what-not."

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